Humidifier stopped working

Has anyone else had their humidifier stop putting out moisture? I have been using my CPAP machine for about one month now and cannot tell it has helped me at all. Then recently apparently the humidifier stopped working because when I checked it the next morning none of the water was gone. This happened two nights in a row. I noticed that my mouth felt very dry. I read the book that came with it and there was no information on this subject. Then last night I did not use the machine. I called the place where I got the equipment and left a message for someone to call me back but no one ever did. I'm going to call again tomorrow and meanwhile I will try using my machine again tonight. I have not had a good night's sleep and wake up many times and have trouble going back to sleep. It seems like I dream constantly when I do sleep but I've always dreamed a lot. I have heartburn and it seems like my throat and chest are burning more since I've been using the CPAP. I also have one spot on my upper back in the shoulder area where I have intense burning. After I take an acid reducer it usually stops. When I first put the mask on at night it seems like it fits very well and there are no leaks but close to morning it starts to leak and I can't stop the leaks so I take the mask off. So far, using a CPAP machine has not been a good experience for me.

First of all let's get you some software so you can evaluate your therapy.
Check out my signature line for SleepyHead software. All the information you need can be found in the links there.
Turn your machine over (remove tank with water in it first) and make sure what the model number is.
The machine you have in your profile is DS 550.....you recently got this machine and you may have a real similar model...the 560 model. If you see a 560 model...send me a private message because SleepyHead won't work on that model just yet but I can get you some software that will work. The 560 model has the special heated hose.

What are your humidifier settings?
Turn it up to 5. Put the mask on an breathe with the machine for about 10 minutes. Turn the machine off and immediately remove the plastic water tank and see if the bottom of the plate has warmed up at all.
If it hasn't warmed up at all then obviously heater not working. There will be some warmth because the heater should come on immediately when masked up and machine on....during the night it might cool down and heat up but first thing when the machine comes on...it should heat up.

If it does warm up...then the humidifier settings might be the issue along with the ambient humidity where you live.
Maybe a low setting on the machine and high enough humidity where you live for the machine not to sense the need.
Further discussion of ideas would be to switch over to classic mode which is heat only and does not use the sensors.
One of the humidity sensors could be faulty.
Do you know how to get to the clinical menu to change over to the old fashioned heat only mode..it is called classes mode.
This link tell how to get to the clinical setup menu with pictures.
http://www.apneaboard.com/pr-system-one ... structions

The provider manual also has those instructions with a lot of other stuff, if you don't have it send me a private message with your personal email address and I will send it to you as an attachment to an email not. I can't send attachments here.

Get the soft and get us some reports to look at then we can offer additional ideas that might help you.
It helps if we can see what you are seeing so I usually suggest screen shots.

Here are my usual "how to post screen shot" instructions.

Open the image to full size so it is easily read.
I use Vista snipping tool to create a screen shot and crop the image at the same time.
Prt/scr key will also take a screen shot if using XP. If laptop is used sometimes the Fn key has to be pushed at the same time as the prt/scr key
I think windows 7 Home Premium has the snipping tool, Basic may not.
Once the screen shot is created save it in jpg format.
Upload the image to a host site. I use Photobucket it is free, there are others.
Once the image is uploaded then copy the ENTIRE IMG address. Be sure to include the opening and closing IMG in brackets. Paste that copied address into a post here.
Use the preview button. If you can't see the image try again because if you can't see it we can't.

First, be sure to take the water tank out before you move or pick up your machine.

After the machine has been off for a while, take the tank out, feel the temperature of the bottom of the humidifier and the plate it sits on.

Turn it on and crank the humidifier up to 5 and use it for 10 minutes or so. Turn it off. Wait one minute or so or be careful to be sure you don't burn yourself. Check the temperature again to see if it's warmer.

Also, check to see that the humidifier light comes on. With the machine on, turn the knob from 0 to 1 and and see that the "3 volcano" humidifier light turns on and off.

The PRS1 machines have a smart humidity feature that turns the heat down if the air is already humid enough. You might want to go into the provider menu and turn "System One Humidification" off. If it doesn't heat up then, with the setting at 5, you're definitely broken.

If it's not working, take the water tank out, remove the humidifier from the blower unit, and then put it back together and try again.

Pugsy, I tried to send you a private message twice. The first time I clicked on Preview and a new window came up that said "Too few characters". I tried to go back to my message and it was gone so I typed a new message and just clicked on Submit and got the same message, Too few characters. I admit I'm not too bright but I must need instructions to use this site. I know I had a terrible time when I was trying to list my equipment. I made a mistake there when I said I wasn't aware of any software because I do have a little card that fits into a slot in the back of my machine. When I tried to go back and edit my equipment I couldn't figure out how to do it. I am going to try your instructions on turning up my humidifier to 5, putting the mask on and breathing for about 10 minutes. I'll let you know what happens. I'm so sorry I'm so dense but I do appreciate all the information you gave me.